Sin and Punishment
iQue Player Virtual Console |mode= Single-player, multi-player |rating= }} Sin and Punishment (Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Earth in Japan) is a former Japanese-only rail shooter title developed by Treasure and Nintendo. The title was released in Japan for the Nintendo 64 in 2000, in China for the iQue Player in 2004, and in Europe and North America on the Wii's Virtual Console in 2007. Despite being a former Asia-exclusive release, it features extensive voice acting in English with subtitles in Japanese. As a result, it became one of the most requested Virtual Console titles in North America, with gaming site IGN declaring that there would be a "Very High" probability of its release after the initial announcement of the service. Plot Mankind's prosperity has led to a vast population increase and serious food shortages. In an attempt to solve the food shortage problem, scientists create a new species to use for food, and place the herd in northern Japan. In time, the creatures mutate and attack the people of Japan. An international peacekeeping organization called the Armed Volunteers tries to stop the creatures, now referred to as "ruffians", but they also oppress the Japanese. Another group, referring to itself as the Savior Group and led by a mysterious woman named Achi, rises up to defend Japan against the Ruffians and Armed Volunteers. Gameplay The game is essentially a rail shooter. Progress through the levels is automatic; the player's job is to aim and fire at enemies, sidestep, roll, jump, or double-jump to avoid attacks and obstacles. The player can switch between manual (red targeting reticle) and lock-on (purple targeting reticle) firing modes at any time. Lock-on mode "sticks" the reticle to enemies, but is less damaging than manually-aimed fire. The player can also attack using a powerful energy sword by tapping the fire button when enemies, or certain types of projectiles, are within close range. Projectiles struck in this manner are bounced back and can potentially inflict great damage on opponents. While the player attacks, a timer at the top of the screen counts down. When the timer hits 0, the player gradually loses more and more life until he or she either refills the timer or dies. Multiplayer involves two players controlling one character cooperatively. The second player controls the targeting sight and shoots while the first player controls the character's movement. Development Sin and Punishment was co-developed by Nintendo's Research & Development Department 1 and Treasure. During development, it was tentatively titled Glass Soldier. The title was directed by Hideyuki Suganami, who also served as one of the programmers. Atsutomo Nakagawa, who had previously had a small part in developing Radiant Silvergun stepped up as program lead, and Yasushi Suzuki, another minor player from the Radiant Silvergun team took over as the lead character artist. This was the last game Suganami worked on before departing the company. He remained on friendly terms with Treasure, returning on a freelance/contractual basis to work on Gunstar Super Heroes. The title was not released until 2000, at which point the market for N64 games was badly weakened. Despite being developed with a North American release in mind, with an English-speaking voice cast, Treasure quietly removed Sin and Punishment from its roster of upcoming North American and PAL releases. The title was finally released to the public outside of Japan via the Wii's Virtual Console download system for the price of 1200 Wii Points. This version retains the Japanese subtitles with its English dialogue, but has translated menus and a few tutorials. The Virtual Console US/PAL version was translated by Nintendo Software Technology (NST). Category:Video Games